Country of Origin: IRAN

ESR 8 WASTE MINERAL FILLER RECYCLING IN NEW PAVEMENT SOLUTIONS (WASTERP)

What inspired you to become a researcher in your field of expertise?

During my Bachelor studies I had decided to follow my career in academia and gained interest in doing research. I believed, and still do, that the most popular field in civil engineering is the structural design. I was looking for something less popular with a better job future. So when I attended the pavement engineering classes I was more interested in this field than ever. I think that the lecturers also gave me positive vibes which increased my interest towards this field. I then moved to Malaysia and studied highway and transportation engineering. I don’t regret my choice a single day.

How will your work help improve people’s quality of life?

Our work will reduce the impact of paving materials on the environment, principally through new materials developed, tested and for use by the industrial sector. We will help overcome practical technical issues at manufacturing plants to mainstream these sustainable advantages.

We also will be working with silt. This material can cause air pollution in windy and dry climatic areas. So being able to find a novel solution of incorporating this material into new products will definitely improve environmental conditions.

What are you most looking forward to as part of your Marie Curie Action?

I am very happy that I have been selected as an ESR. It took me about three years of searching and applying but I finally won. I had job offers to work as a consultant but I declined them. I always wanted a job or a position that involved both academic and actual practical work. Doing mere research is not satisfying enough for me. So, I am hoping that I can work with wider audience and collaborate in international (and cross-reference) projects. To meet with highly talented and famous experts in my field (during my Masters I worked on Bitumen characterization and I had read a lot of Prof. Airey’s work…always admired his work and now I will be heading to Nottingham to work in his lab). I will be working at industrial firm SAPABA so my industrial-academic dream job has come true. And I am sure that it will boost my career in the future.

As a researcher, I believed in the fact “publish, or perish”, but honestly, all the work and plans SaferUp! has in mind for us is very new and valuable. I am really looking forward to it.